Charlotte Charlie Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. He s the school s star athlete, in the National Honor Society, invited to every party, contributes to the school paper (where Charlie is co-editor), and is about to be featured as One to Watch in a teen magazine basically, he's exactly the type of guy Charlie s meant to be with. The only problem he barely knows she exists.

But Charlie is determined to be Teo's date to the Christmas ball. And she has a plan: To rig the paper s Secret Santa so that she can win his heart with five perfect gifts. But to do that she needs help. Enter J.D. Ortiz Teo s cousin, and possibly the most annoying person on the planet. He s easy going, laid back, unorganized, spontaneous, and makes a joke out of everything the exact opposite of Charlie (and Teo). But he s willing to provide insight into what Teo wants, so she s stuck with him.

Yet, the more time Charlie spends with J.D., the more she starts to wonder: Does she really know what, or rather who, she wants for Christmas?

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Charlotte Charlie Donovan has just broken up with her boyfriend. She is upset not because the relationship is over but that she won’t have a date to her friend’s exclusive birthday party. The party is focused on couples and she’s single. Charlie want’s the perfect boyfriend and Teo Ortiz seems like the perfect candidate. An honor roll athlete that is always on time she thinks he’s the one for her. She rigs the newspaper secret Santa so she makes sure she gets Teo. The problem is she doesn’t know him so she has to get help from Teo’s annoying cousin J.D. J.D. is everything Teo is not disorganized and laid back. The more Charlie spends time with him the more she finds Teo might not be the perfect one for her after all.

In ” an Oyster Shell- This was a cute romance with great characters which makes me want to read other titles from this author.

The Pearls – I liked the concept of this story. A young girl who thinks she knows what she wants but gets challenged along the way. I like that she’s going after one guy when the guy she might really need is right in front of her all along.

The characters were well defined and had great growth. Charlie was the main character and goes through the most growth. Her epiphany, in the end, had me cheering on the inside.

It’s a great romance with a sweet HEA. I like how the romance slowly develops and Charlie has to make a choice in the end. It’s not a love triangle so don’t worry about that. Her idea of the perfect guy might not be so perfect after all.

The Sand – It was a good book and I am going to buy the other book from this author.

About Shani Petroff

Shani Petroff is the author of the YA novels Romeo and What’s Her Name (Macmillan/Feb. 2017) and My New Crush Gave to Me (Macmillan/Oct. 2017) and the tween series, Bedeviled (Penguin). She is also the co-author of Ash.